Hello, and welcome! I want to take the opportunity to share more about who I am and how I came to start Women’s Embodied Wellness. I am Katie Pizzurro, and I’ve shared before how I am a North Carolina native. I was born on a military base towards the coast, and I’m an only child. As a little girl I wanted to grow up to become a wife/mother and an elementary school teacher, as I was inspired by one of my aunt’s who spent her career in the classroom. I was told my whole life that I could be anything I wanted to when I grew up, and after graduating high school I attended my local community college and obtained my A.A. before transferring to an in-state university. After six years pursuing my degree (with some semesters off due to illness) I graduated from North Carolina State University with a B.A. in History as I had realized during my college years that elementary education was not where my passion was any longer. I worked various customer service and retail jobs in my late teens and early twenties, and in 2015 I began a career in banking.
Personal History
2015 was also the year that I met my future husband – special shout out to Tinder! Chris has supported and encouraged me for the past eight years to follow my passions and realize more of my worth. We got engaged in December 2016 and celebrated our marriage in October 2018. Today actually is our five-year anniversary! During the early years of our marriage we transitioned to a whole foods plant based diet, I ditched birth control and discovered vaginal steaming and fertility awareness/cycle charting.
I became a certified peristeam facilitator via the Steamy Chick course hosted by the fabulous Keli Garza, as well as a certified doula through the online HERBAL program created by Desiree Miller and Taylor Bland. In March of 2020, a week before the world shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we found out we were pregnant with our first child. I was over the moon with excitement, and we shared the news with family and friends very early. I felt that good news needed to be shared, and I know that if we were to ever suffer the loss of a child I would want as much support from my loved ones as possible.
Pregnant While Navigating the 2020 Pandemic
I was still working in banking when the global shutdowns occurred, so much of my daily life did not change except for no longer seeing clients in-person, and a higher utilization of grocery and meal deliveries at home. I knew that I wanted to be under the care of a midwife for this pregnancy journey and set out to find the perfect fit. Due to previous medical issues I was denied care at our local birth center, and settled upon a wonderful midwife group that delivered at a local hospital. Every aspect of my care provided by these women was wonderful, outside of my husband not being able to attend any prenatal visits or my anatomy scan.
I am grateful to say that my pregnancy was a peaceful, easy journey and I read a lot of books, blogs, and social media posts. I chose HypnoBirthing as my childbirth education course, and I loved the relaxation techniques I learned along the way. At 39 weeks I went on maternity leave as I was 4cm dilated and I knew I needed to give my body the time and space to relax and prepare for the birth journey ahead. Late in the night at 39 weeks and 6 days my labor began, and we journeyed to the hospital where our doula joined us. Our son was born on his due date, at 9:27 in the morning, and we spent the next day in the hospital before heading home as a family of three.
The Journey to Business Owner
After the birth of our son in December 2020 I quickly realized that I had no desire to return to the banking world, and after basking in the glow of his newborn weeks and the fourth trimester, I began to brainstorm an outlet for myself and thus Women’s Embodied Wellness was born. I wanted to create a place where my knowledge of vaginal steaming, being a birth doula, and being a HypnoBirthing instructor could be accessed by the women and families in my local area. I crafted herbal blends and began teaching HypnoBirthing classes while attending hospital births as a doula.
As our son grew bigger, and busier, it became more difficult to sustain the multiple moving parts of my business and I slowly shut things down in order to focus on being the most available mom and homemaker that I could be. My organic herbal blends are still available right here in my online store, and I also currently offer consultations about peristeaming and HypnoBirthing.
Growing Our Family
In late 2022 Chris and I were finally ready to build our first home and exit the crazy world of renting. We happily chose a small plot of land and construction soon began. The week after Mother’s Day 2023 I realized that I was two days late on my cycle and took a pregnancy test. Since we were not actively trying to conceive I truly did not think that it would be postive, but those two lines popped up and I eagerly shared the news at 7am on a Friday morning. We moved into our new home a few weeks later, and shared our exciting baby news on social media during Father’s Day weekend. We also left behind our vegan lifestyle and I wholly embraced butter, eggs, and grass-fed meat again.
With this pregnancy Chris and I both knew we wanted to pursue a homebirth so I spent the first few weeks researching our options and reaching out to local midwives. I found the wonderful women of Ohana Midwifery and feel so cared for and welcomed on this second-time journey. Going through this pregnancy was a bit more difficult as I chase around a toddler and dealt with stronger food aversions and increased morning sickness. As I approached the 20 week mark my appetite came back along with my energy levels, and I have been able to thoroughly enjoy these past five weeks of pregnancy. Chris was able to attend our anatomy ultrasound this time around, and we found out that we are expecting a second boy! I’ve been soaking up every moment of this pregnancy so far, the highs and the lows, and I am over the moon to meet this little guy early next year.
Looking Forward
My goal for this blog is to share about our family, our holistic journey, as well as information about steaming, fertility awareness, HypnoBirthing, and cultivate a community of women and families who can come together to share stories, experiences, and wisdom gained. I will also share links and information about fellow small businesses, products, and services that I love. I will only promote and share what our family truly loves and uses, and highlight woman-owned companies. I thank you for following along with my story. Please comment and share with your friends and family!
